Alley Burger/Food Truck Experience - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

darklord700 · 09-14-2011, 02:58 PM

So I got my first Alley Burger or any kind of food truck experience today. I was about the 20th in line when I got there about 5 minute before the start for lunch. I didn't get my food until almost an hour later.

I figured in a hour, they had served no more than 30 burgers as most people just bought one for themselves. I wasn't really happy with the wait time because I only have an hour for lunch. This should be a grab and go operation instead I spent a sit down meal time for it.

I ordered the 2 patty beef burger and fries. The patties had some nice flavour to it but were way too tough and dry. At first I though it must be because it has 2 patties but later I concluded that the patties were just too tough. The other problem is that the burger was wrapped in tin foil so by the time I sat down back in my office, it had been squashed somewhat.

The fries were good, better than the burger, but were a little on the cold side.

Had the wait time been shorter, I would have given it barely a passing grade. As it stands, I don't see what the fuss is about Alley Burger other than the novelty, not to say that the burger is $9 each or $10 with cheese which isn't cheap.

I wonder how the food trucks are going to operate in winter when it is too cold not just to stand in line but to fill out the order form by hand.

Flaming Choy · 09-14-2011, 03:01 PM

If you had the beef burger, you didn't have the Alley burger.

IliketoPuck · 09-14-2011, 03:02 PM

I had Blamwhich a few weeks ago. Easily one of the tastiest food truck meals I've ever had. Highly recommend it.

Bigtime · 09-14-2011, 03:10 PM

I had been wanting to try Alley Burger since they first started serving them in the alley behind Charcut. Never had the chance until Sunday at the H1 festival in the Beltline.

I had the Alley burger double patty and it was totally worth they hype. The patties were nice and juicy, and the cheese curds and aoli (sp?) sauce went with it very well.

During Latino fest I tried the Los Compadres food truck, delicious authentic Mexican tacos.

I will go back to both in a heartbeat (and stand out in the cold for them).

darklord700 · 09-14-2011, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flaming Choy

If you had the beef burger, you didn't have the Alley burger.

But the beef burger still should be good though.

red sky · 09-14-2011, 03:25 PM

Yeah, I imagine there will be growing pains with this but I expect it will stary to smooth itself out a bit. A few coworkers went today and had to endure the same line up. Also mentioned the burger was a bit cold after getting back to the office.

Bigtime · 09-14-2011, 03:26 PM

Alley Burger, Los Compadres, Fiasco, and Perogy Boyz seem to be very active and always updating on Twitter with their locations and plans for the next service/day.

flamingchina · 09-14-2011, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darklord700

So I got my first Alley Burger or any kind of food truck experience today. I was about the 20th in line when I got there about 5 minute before the start for lunch. I didn't get my food until almost an hour later.

According to their twitter feed they had cash register problems, so it was slower than usual...
I do agree they could be a bit faster usually, but...

Bigtime · 09-14-2011, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

The others are useless.

It was funny the other day in Marda Loop, waiting for the mexican while using the Union Station free Wifi. bet that would piss them off.

Was it you that tweeted that the Union Station people were made with where they parked?

Bigtime · 09-14-2011, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darklord700

The other problem is that the burger was wrapped in tin foil so by the time I sat down back in my office, it had been squashed somewhat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by red sky

Also mentioned the burger was a bit cold after getting back to the office.

This burger was born to be eaten in an Alley right away, you don't walk that baby back to your office to eat it. You open that foil up right away and start chowing down!

Did you two bust out a fork and knife for it also?

socktape · 09-14-2011, 03:42 PM

I would agree, if you are going to the Alley Burger truck you need to get the Alley Burger.... way better than the beef burger.

I would also agree that they do need to figure out a better method of delivery. It is a really good burger but I am one that won't wait 2 hours for a buger again only to have them run out of fries and bacon and whatever else before I get to the front. I understand that there would be some growing pains but it has been a month or so now.

That being said, it is opening up again in 19 minutes....

darklord700 · 09-14-2011, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by socktape

II would also agree that they do need to figure out a better method of delivery. It is a really good burger but I am one that won't wait 2 hours for a buger again only to have them run out of fries and bacon and whatever else before I get to the front. I understand that there would be some growing pains but it has been a month or so now.

Maybe they should just get rid of the beef burger or poutine. If they keep pumping out alley burgers with not customization, they can make it more of a grab and go operation and probably make more money.

jtfrogger · 09-14-2011, 03:52 PM

Had an Alley Burger & poutine for supper yesterday. The burger was good, but the poutine was amazing. Especially with Truffle Oil salt & pepper.

It was a bit pricy, but I'd do it again. And the burger was gone before the poutine or my wife's beef burger came out. No time to cool down or get squished.

Russic · 09-14-2011, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

Might help if they constructed the patties elsewhere in a central location and ship them frozen to the truck.

me_dennis · 09-14-2011, 03:59 PM

i went to alleyburger 2 days ago at around 1 or 2pm and there was no line up, surprisingly! I got to meet chef connie from top chef canada too. I had the single alley burger and it was quite tasty. it was just warm so i have a feeling i got a leftover one from the lunch rush, so it wasn't as juicy as i'd thought it'd be, but it was still very tasty. I heard that the poutine was actually better than the burger, so i regret not going for the poutine.

as for the other food trucks, i've tried fiasco and los compadres. Fiasco was good, friendly service, and they seem to be always out. I'm not sure how well they'll do during the winter months.

Los compadres i have mixed reviews. The food itself is awesome! I would skip the beef, but the pastor (bbq pork) and the chicken had awesome flavor! It doesn't quite compare to an LA taco truck, both in taste and in price, but it definitely beats tacotime or any other mexican restaurant in calgary. The system that they have set up is a whole different story though. It can be quite slow, and I think that they have a lot to improve on that. There are usually 2 lines, one to pay and order, and one to wait for your food. When you go to order your food and pay for it, they give you a small receipt, and you head over to the other line up to wait for your food. Now I would think that once i have paid and ordered, the kitchen staff would have a ticket on their end so they could just call out a number when my order is ready. Instead, once you have ordered, you wait in the 2nd line, which is usually double in size, where you just wait amongst other hungry patrons for the window to open up. once they open up the window, they ask for about 10 receipts, which at that point they start preparing your order. Highly inefficient i find. Be prepared to wait at least 45-1hr on a busy lunch rush and about 20-30 mins when there's no line. They seemed to have improved though, because the first time i went, there was a lot of confusion on who's order was who's because they didnt call out any numbers.

A lot of people didnt understand the system and would miss out on handing in their tickets, therefore making the wait even longer.

But the food was good enough for me to go back. Hopefully they work out the kinks and create an efficient system soon. Perhaps having a ticket go to the kitchen when the order is placed, as well as taking down names of the customer, so when the order is up, then the chef can just yell out the name?

MissTeeks · 09-14-2011, 04:12 PM

I had my first food truck experience last week and had Fries and Dolls for lunch. It was just meh. I had the Fergie which is fries with pink sea salt, cracked pepper and vinegar. It needed a whole lot more vinegar, most of it had evaporated before I could eat them. The sweet potato fries looked pretty good so I might have to try those next time.

MissTeeks · 09-14-2011, 04:30 PM

They're open right now with no line if anyone didn't want to wait.

AlleyBurger Alley Burger NOW OPEN and no line!!! come check us out 6th ave and 2nd street SW...Corner of Vinci parking

JiriHrdina · 09-14-2011, 05:07 PM

What is Blamwhich?

Flaming Choy · 09-14-2011, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

What is Blamwhich?

sandwich truck
http://www.blamwich.ca/menu/

WhiteTiger · 09-14-2011, 06:19 PM

I've been to the Alley Burger truck. Ended up waiting about 20 minutes in line, and about 40 minutes total (my buddy lost his cash, and had to scramble to find an ATM). Had the actual Alley Burger, two patties.

It was worth it, imo. Chatted with the people in line, really enjoyed the food. The fries didn't "wow" me, but with fries it's hard to. But the burger was good enough that I'd go back.